1 dead, homes, businesses damaged in floods from heavy rains in UAE

ABU DHABI, The UAE: On April 17, at least one person died, and homes and businesses were damaged in a rare torrential storm that hit the UAE.

After the heavy rain subsided late a day earlier, emergency workers were fighting to drain flooded roads across the country.

According to the country's national meteorology center, the UAE witnessed record rainfall, with 254 mm (10 inches) falling in less than 24 hours in Al Ain, a city on the border with Oman, the highest rainfall since records began in 1949 before the UAE was established in 1971.

As it usually only rains a few times every year, the UAE lacks the drainage infrastructure to deal with heavy rainfall, and roads usually become partially submerged underwater during extended periods of rain.

Cloud seeding operations to increase rainfall are also commonly conducted.

Although the National Meteorology Center denied that any cloud seeding operations had recently been conducted, Bloomberg earlier quoted the agency as stating that seven were conducted several days before the storm.

Rising global temperatures caused by man-made climate change are leading to more extreme weather events, including intense rainfall such as the storm in the UAE, scientists have said.

Heavy rains continued, blocking roads and severely disrupting flights.

Local media and social media posts, including collapsed roads and flooded homes, showed significant damage nationwide.